Wellington

I think these pics are pretty self-explanatory... Wellington's a nice place. I thought Aukland was the capital of New Zealand, but it's actually here, which I'm sure most of you already knew! The city's nestled in a harbor in front of some mountains (or more likely old volcanoes), so the cable car goes right up from the middle of town to a great viewpoint and gardens.

[Later] Well, that was a big waste. it's finally a clear night, so I went outside hoping to maybe see the Southern Cross, but the city lights are so bright you can barely see any stars at all. I've been here 5 days and still haven't seen it! But that's ok, this weekend should be much better when I go out to that island with the goat sanctuary; according to the picture I saw of it, there's almost nobody living there... it should be nice dark skies-- if only it doesn't get cloudy again! (Speaking of astronomy, Joe and Mike, I found out that New Zealand time is exactly twelve hours different from Greenwich time, which means I'm on the opposite side of the planet from you! Happy now?) Another nice thing tonight, even though I've started to get used to sleeping w/o a fan (yes, can you believe it??), I asked last night here at the Wellington youth hostel, knowing that there was no way they'd have one, but just in case. Well, of course, they didn't, but the nice young guy at the desk really made a search (they actually have some, but use them for other things); and today when I got back from sightseeing, there was a fan buzzing in my room! I made a point of thanking the lad. The rooms in this hostel, although still pretty bare, are way better than that horrid first one in Aukland. That one had only one small prison-cell-like window way up high that only opened a few inches, which helped not at all the stifling heat of the room. I had to prop the door open to get what little air I could, which I'm sure made all the young girls passing by think I was creepy. (*Look, Helga, there's that old American trying to watch us again*) And there was nothing in the room but two beds and a battered old fold-up chair-- this one has a nice little desk and end tables. Even the reading light was horrible, because it was mounted right over the bed so it shined right in your eyes as you tried to read. And of course, early in the morning, construction was going on outside! Needless to say I didn't sleep too well. But tonight I'm going to bask in the luxury of a cool room and a humming fan to lull me to sleep.

P.S. Oh, and C.A., you were asking about the water... it's fine, I've been drinking tap water all over this place (I try to save a little plastic by not buying too many new bottles). No worries there, mate!